Oil + Gas
Plan to stash planet-heating CO2 under national forests alarms critics
A proposal that would allow industries to permanently stash climate-polluting carbon dioxide beneath U.S. Forest Service land puts those habitats and the people in or near them at risk, according to opponents of the measure. Chief among opponents’ concerns is that carbon dioxide could leak from storage wells or pipelines and injure or kill people […]
Members of Landry transition team operated illegal waste dump for years, lawsuits claim
A co-chair on Gov.-elect Jeff Landry’s coast and environment transition team has been embroiled in litigation for nearly a decade because of his alleged illegal operation of a dump for toxic and hazardous oil and gas waste in Montana, according to court records. And another member of that team was co-owner of the company that […]
Oil and gas industry subject to new rule on methane emissions
A new federal rule issued Saturday targets the oil and gas industry’s methane emissions, which experts say are a primary culprit in global warming and cost Louisiana millions in lost tax revenue. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new policy requires oil and gas facilities to perform comprehensive monitoring for methane leaks. It also phases in […]
Lake Maurepas carbon capture project draws increasing opposition
It has become perhaps the most controversial environmental issue in southeast Louisiana. The residents who oppose a plan to let heavy industry use Lake Maurepas as a storage site for carbon dioxide emissions span the spectrum of race, class, age, education level and political affiliation. Chemical giant Air Products wants to drill wells in Lake […]
Landry sends mixed messages with ‘carbon neutral’ comments, trial lawyer ties
Gov.-elect Jeff Landry’s pick for Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality secretary last week was something of a head-scratcher. It’s not so surprising he picked a former Trump administration employee for the job, but Aurelia Skipwith Giacometto’s background as leader of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has many questioning why she would be considered a […]
Despite setbacks, states are still counting on offshore wind
In recent months, East Coast states’ plans to install massive new offshore wind farms have been battered by bad economic news, canceled contracts and newfound uncertainty about the projects officials are counting on to reach their clean energy goals. Despite the setbacks, state leaders say they don’t intend to dial back their offshore wind ambitions. […]
As industry struggles, federal, state offshore wind goals could get tougher to meet
Good news or bad news first? Because there was plenty of both this week for the fledgling U.S. offshore wind industry. On Halloween, the Biden administration announced that the nation’s largest planned offshore wind development, Dominion Energy’s 2,600 megawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, received its last major federal approval. The same day, however, Danish […]
New House speaker Mike Johnson holds extreme views on climate change, science
Since Republican representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana was elected as speaker of the House last week, journalists and D.C. politicos have been scrambling to learn more about the formerly obscure politician described by a former colleague as a “background guy.” We already know that Johnson — who was first elected to the Louisiana House of […]
LSU’s new energy institute faces global challenges, local skepticism
In Louisiana, the energy transition away from high-intensity carbon fuels is focused on things such as creating lower-carbon hydrogen and capturing climate-warming carbon from industry and directly from the air. But Brad Ives, the incoming director of Louisiana State University’s nascent Institute for Energy Innovation, wants to expand the possibilities to include energy sources such […]
Louisiana adopts stronger rule to tackle orphaned oil well problem
The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources finalized a new rule Friday to help reduce the number of orphaned oil and gas wells throughout the state. At one point last year, Louisiana had more than 4,600 wells considered orphaned, meaning they were abandoned with no financially viable owner to take responsibility. These wells can pose a […]
‘So many ways hydrogen can go wrong’: Hub announcements viewed with caution
The Friday announcement that seven projects had been selected to receive $7 billion in seed money to kickstart the production of clean hydrogen across the country was billed by President Joe Biden’s administration as a major step toward slashing carbon emissions, creating thousands of domestic jobs and positioning the U.S. as a clean energy leader. […]
Louisiana not among states White House chooses for $7 billion in clean hydrogen hubs
The Biden administration is directing $7 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure law to build seven regional hydrogen power hubs in 16 states, the White House announced Friday. The projects, each of which is a cluster of assets that produce and process hydrogen fuel as an alternative to fossil fuels, will benefit the climate, the economy […]